Neither That Bad Nor That Good

Rating: 5/10 (19 February 2017)

This film has supported the idea that one man's meat is another's poison. It either drew total pans or rave reviews, but there were precious few objective views. Therein in lies the paradox that defines how we watch movies, and why reviewer opinions can be such opposite valuations. Like most problematic counterpoint of this nature, the truth lies somewhere in between.
To further this point, I have to say that this is neither real blockbuster material nor is it cinematic roadkill. Depending on your viewpoint, the extent to which you are willing to suspend your disbelief, you will find both decent watching and you'll also find some wooden acting. There evaluations need to be viewed in light of their era of filmdom, the climate within which certain types of movie flourish while others wither and die.
This brings me to one main focus of objective reviewing, the era of the film making and date of release. In the most recent era, there were many movies created by basing them on comic book characters and cartoon characters that can firmly establish how entrenched this kind of movie watching has been. This film fits right into that categorization.
With this in mind, watching this movie comes in a feel-good, heroes beat villains comic book environment time and truly "belongs". You can find a ton of fun things to watch but not a lot of top-notch acting, which is in line with the straight ahead Dick Tracy School of Drama prevalent in these flicks. The movie supplies much to look at, achieving a grainy graphics-in-reality seen often in comics. It achieves a moody, dark and "day-glo" colored atmosphere sustained quite well all through the show.
The characterizations are broadly drawn. The cast interacts buts seldom acts. The stilted hero personified profile is invoked freely, reminiscent of Steven Segal, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Chuck Norris. Each character gets to be stoic. The relationships are kept simple, as is the dialogue. This basically does not allow the cast much opportunity to chew up the scenery. It also lends itself an unspoken tension, which aids in maintaining the comic book atmosphere
The protagonists, the Kaiju, are right out of the Godzilla and Ultraman early anime efforts. This has a funky throwback feel, sometimes working effectively and sometimes silly looking. The heroes, the paired occupant humans operating the good guys Jaeger robots, are flat out Transformers (and, no, not in disguise!), yet another Saturday morning kids show evoked. The fights between the opposing entities can be cool to watch, but there are too many of them. Or, should I say, there are too many because of the length of the film.
The movie clocks in at about three hours. It's too long. As aforementioned, there are too many fights, too many one-upmanship ultimate battles to keep continued interest. As is the fate of many an action movie, it's prolonged state eats away at the dynamic tension. That being said, the real "final" fight is worthy of the effects put into it, as a pastiche of graphics, anime and physical interaction provide some eye candy at the end of the show.
I often purposefully look at films such as this because of the wide range of opinion provoked by it. I almost always find the real truth lies between. Depending upon your ability to suspend that feeling of disbelief, you can enjoy this one. I like to go to movie theaters because the majority of the viewers there are more willing to take things as they're given. They are predisposed to feeling that way, that is what draws many of us to the theater. However, I watched this at home. It was a pleasant enough pastime for a chilly February afternoon. Please forgive any badly spelled words or names. Happy viewing!